Garment



July 19, 1938. M. c. HENNESSY.

GARMENT Filed Feb. 18, 1958 Juventor (Ittbmeg Patented July 19, 1938 UNITED s'rr PATENT 2 Claims.

This invention relates to wearing apparel and more particularly to skirted garments and other garments which are adjustable in length or which have parts of adjustable length.

In reference to skirted garments such as, for example, slips, petticoats, dresses, etc., it is desirable to make provision for adjusting the length of such garments without the necessity for rehemming and re-stitching the edges thereof. It is also desirable to obviate the necessity for cutting the garment in order to reduce the length thereof. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a garment which can be readily adjusted in length without cutting the same and without re-hemming or re-stitching the shortened garment.

The above object'of the invention and other objects ancillary thereto are accomplished in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention by providing the skirted or other portion of the garment which is intended to be adjustable in length with a plurality of attached parts, each having a hemmed or otherwise suitable finished outer edge which defines the outer edge of the garment in each length thereof. Said parts are arranged in the garment in removable relation in such a manner that the outermost part can be readily removed from the adjacent inner part without cutting the garment between said parts, or otherwise cutting the same. In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the securement between the removable parts comprises lines of chain stitching which not only normally attaches the parts tor gether in secure fashion, but are readily removable by withdrawing the same from said parts in a predetermined direction. The ends of each line of chain stitching are locked together in any suitable way whereby said line of stitching is secured against unravelling, and for this purpose, the stitching of the side seam of the garment is extended through the lines of chain stitching at the ends of the latter, although it will be understood that the ends of said lines of chain stitching may be fastened in any suitable way whereby to prevent unintended unravelling of said stitching.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of the present specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a skirted garment, such as a slip, embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fi 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged outer view of the lower part of the garment showing the chain stitching illustrating the attachment between the adjacent removable parts;

Fig. 4 is an inner view of the part shown in Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the garment l0, here shown as a slip, by way of il-' iustration, comprises the skirted portion I2 which is adjustablein length in accordance with the present invention. For this purpose, the lower portion of said skirt comprises a plurality of parts, here shown as three, disposed lengthwise of the garment and extending circumferentially thereof completely therearound. The loweredge of the skirt portion i2 and the lower edge of each of the parts l4, I6 and I8 are provided with narrow inturned hems 20, each secured in position by a permanent line of stitching 22. The innermost removable part I4 is secured to the hem 20 of skirt portion I2 by a line of chain stitching 24. Said part I4 is positioned in overlapping relation to the outer marginal edge portion of skirt l2 on the inner side of the garment at the hem 20 thereof, and the line of chain stitching 24 is arranged so that it passes through said overlappededge portions preferably just below stitching 22. Part I6 is similarly connected to part l4 and part It! is similarly connected to part it. The side seam 28 extends longitudinally of the garment and the stitching thereof passes through parts i4, i6 and I8, crossing the lines of chain stitching 24 for preventing unravelling thereof. As seen from Figs. 3 and 4, the loops 2,5 of the chain stitching are on the inside of the garment and the connecting thread portions 21 are on the outside of the garment,

but this may be reversed.

For shortening the garment to the desired length, one or more of the parts i8, i6 and i4 may be readily removed, as may be necessary, by withdrawing the line or lines of chain stitching between adjacent parts as may be desired depending upon the amount the garment is to be shortened. Thus, for example, if the garment is to be shortened by the amount equal to the width of part i8, said part is removed from the garment by withdrawing the line of chain stitching 24 which secures said part to the adjacent part of It. This is readily accomplished in a well understood manner and the parts are readily separated by thus withdrawing said line of chain stitching, except where said stitching is locked to side seam 28 which, however. can also be readily removed to the extent necessary in a well understood manner for completely releasing part I! from part it. For further decreasing the length of the garment, the parts l6 and I4 can be similarly detached merely by withdrawing their respective lines of chain stitching and by detaching the ends of said stitching from the side seam 28. Itmay be noted that due to the construction of chain stitching, the latter is readily unravelled by drawing the thread in one direction to unloop the same, but cannot be unravelled when the thread is drawn in the opposite direction longitudinally oi the line of stitching. Accordingly, in withdrawing the chain stitching for releasing the removable parts from each other, it is necessary to draw the thread of the stitching in the direction to unravel the same, this being wellunderstood by those familiar with the apparel art. It will be noted that upon separating each of the removable parts, a finished outer edge is left on the garment thus shortened by the removal of one or more said parts, since the outer edge of the remaining part provided with the hem 20 is undisturbed. While I have shown the garment provided with three removable parts for adjusting the length thereof, it will be understood that the number of said parts may be more or less than that shown, and it will be understood also that the width of said parts may be the same or may be different from each other.

Thus, it is seen that the construction herein shown and described is well adapted to accomplish the objects of the present invention. It will be understood. however, that while I have disclosed the preferred embodiment of the invention and have illustrated the same in reference to a lady's slip, the invention may be embodied in other garments or parts thereof for readily ad- Justing the length thereof, and that in the illustrated embodiment certain changes in the construction and arrangement of parts may be made. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited precisely to the embodiment of the invention as described herein, except as may be required by the appended claims considered with reference to the prior art.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and. desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A skirted garment comprising a skirt portion of a desired length, said skirt portion having a finished outer hemmed edge, and a part adding to the length of the garment attached to and projecting downwardly beyond said hemmed edge, the upper marginal edge of said part being disposed in overlapping relation to said hemmed edge, and a line of chain stitching passing through said overlapped marginal edge of said part and throughsaid hemmed edge and extending substantially parallel to said hemmed edge for securing said skirt portion and said part together, said hemmed edge being fastened by a line of permanent stitching therethrough inde pendently of said added part, said line of chain stitching having its ends normally fastened in position and being removable from the garment to release said part from said skirt portion.

2. A skirted garment comprising a skirt portion of a desired length, said skirt portion hav-.

ing a finished'outer hemmed edge, and a part adding to the length of the garment attached to and projecting downwardly beyond said hemmed edge, the upper marginal edge of said part being disposed in overlapping relation to said hemmed edge, and a line of chain stitching passing through said overlapped marginal edge of said part and through said hemmed edge and extending substantially parallel to said hemmed edge for securing said skirt portion and said part together, said hemmed edge being fastened by a line of permanent stitching therethrough independently of said added part, said added part having a side seam which crosses said line of chain stitching and holds the same in position, said chain stitching being removable from the garment, upon severing one of the chain loops, to release said part from said skirt portion.

MARY C. HENNESSY. 

